Wendy Thompson Hut

Explore the Marriott Basin Backcountry

Reservations

The Wendy Thompson Hut is a reservations-only based hut. You must have a confirmed reservation to stay at the hut. Payment is accepted through PayPal only. Please note that your reservation is not confirmed until pre-payment has been received and acknowledged with an email receipt from PayPal, which is needed at the hut as proof of reservation.

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*Select Book Now to find out more information about booking windows, availability periods and any special alerts.
**PayPal receipt emails may end up in your junk/spam folder, please check there before contacting us.
***Dogs are no longer allowed, as people keep bringing them into the hut.

About The Hut

The hut will sleep up to 16 persons + 4 custodians. The maximum number of people in one party is restricted to discourage full-hut bookings (see the Reservations page for more detail). Full-hut, exclusive bookings are allowed for academic institutions and educational programs only and will be processed manually by the Reservations Coordinator.

Hut facilities or outhouse: $25 per person per night, or $20 if you are an Alpine Club of Canada member of the Whistler, Squamish or Vancouver chapters. Children 14 and under are eligible for a 20% discount.

We have a 7 day-cancellation policy. That means cancellation notice given via email to [email protected] 7 days or more prior to the first night’s stay will be given a full refund, minus a $5 administrative fee. However, if the avalanche conditions as rated HIGH or EXTREME by Avalanche Canada for the northern portion of the South Coast Inland region bulletin within 24 hours of your departure, we will refund you in full if you wish to cancel.
If you are unable to make it to the hut because of navigation error or fatigue or group dynamics, we cannot refund your payment.

The hut is a modest Gothic-arch styled cabin. There are two floors. The lower floor contains the main entrance on the north side, which hosts a kitchen table, two six person tables, four long benches, and four folding chairs. There are four sinks (with buckets underneath), and a counter with three cook stations for you to cook and do kitchen prep. There are buckets provided for grey water and for pure water pulled from the creek. Keep them separate. Please use only indoor footwear in the hut.

Bring your own cooking stove. Please prepare your meals on the counters provided and do not leave your stove and food prep on the counters while eating – to be considerate of others. There are sufficient utensils, plates, cups, and cooking pots for a full hut of visitors. Please re-rack them after cleaning.

Please, please do not leave ANY food at the hut. Despite best intentions, these foods attract rodents and other small mammals, who attempt to chew their way into the hut. It is up to users to remove materials that they have brought to the hut. Please do your best to keep the hut as clean as possible. It’s a good idea to bring in a small dish sponge and two dish towels to dry your dishes. Please do not leave used sponges or towels in the hut. They also attract rodents. Bleach has been left in the kitchen to help purify dish washing and washing up the counters.

Upstairs is a loft which contains the sleeping area with a large bunk bed. There are no single beds. You must bring your own sleeping bag but we have added new 4″ covered foam mats for sleeping. Please leave these mattresses on the bunks and do not move them around the hut. Please respect the space of other users. There are shelves on the wall opposite the beds and hooks to hang packs and stuff sacs from. Ear plugs are recommended to improve sleep quality.

Heating for the Wendy Thompson Hut is by a wood stove. Note that a great deal of volunteer time and helicopter transport was needed to provide the wood stacked at the hut. This is expensive, due to helicopter time and difficult logistics in the winter environment. There will be measures put into place to reduce the amount of wood used during any particular part of the season. Please respect these measures. Please use the wood according to the posted instructions at the hut and be mindful that the season is a long one. A small hatchet for creating kindling is cabled at the wood storage. Axes or splitting mauls are not to be brought into the hut. A good plan is to bring some dry kindling in your pack to make it easier to light the stove. Please do not keep the stove burning if you are out for the day or overnight. This is a backcountry hut and it is not expected to be t-shirt warm in the evenings.

In 2015, a solar lighting system was added to the hut. Under normal usage, three banks of light can be maintained during dark hours. Please only use the lights that are necessary for your purposes, but feel free to use whatever light you require. Note that the lights are on a two hour timer and will shut off after that time. Please do not adjust the time sequence. Just turn them on with a quick touch and turn them off when you don’t need them. Timing begins when they are switched back on. There are four USB chargers also located beside the switches.

New outhouse facilities, completed in September 2019, are located outside of the hut, accessed by a boardwalk from the front entrance. These urine-separating toilets are very effective and signs will explain their proper use. Containment barrels for solids will need to be changed occasionally and instructions are provided in doing so. Our facilities are user-maintained, so we appreciate that our guests will assist in changing the barrels before they overflow.

Gray water can be disposed of at the “pee” tree located near the wood-shed as long as solids are strained from it. A small sieve or an old nylon stocking works well to do that. Remember to pack out that strained waste along with other garbage. Gray water should NOT be disposed of in the toilet.

Please be respectful of the natural environment by disposing of waste as described above.
If you are unable to make it to the hut because of navigation error or fatigue or group dynamics, we cannot refund your payment.

Born in Montreal in 1961, Wendy was a Whistler resident from the early 1980s until the early 1990s. She was a ski patroller on Blackcomb Mountain for five years with a special interest in helicopter rescues. At the same time, in addition to serving as a volunteer officer with the Whistler RCMP, she became involved as a part-time paramedic with the British Columbia Ambulance Service in Whistler.

Wendy transferred to Vancouver to become fully active in ambulance work. Partly because of her dedicated love of children, she became part of the the BCAS Infant Transport Team. It was on a mercy flight to the Queen Charlotte Islands on January 11, 1995 that the jet aircraft carrying her crew was lost at sea off Masset. All medical staff and air crew were killed.

Wendy loved the mountains, and did a lot of hiking, climbing, and cycling on the Coast and in the Rockies. If the Whistler Section of the Alpine Club of Canada had been in existence while she lived here, she would certainly have been an active member.

Wendy’s estate has furnished the capital funding for construction of the “Wendy Thompson Hut”. May all who use it enjoy a wonderful mountain experience.

Getting Here

The Wendy Thompson Hut is located in the Marriott Basin backcountry, in Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES) Challenging terrain. The winter route is NOT marked, and you will be responsible for route-finding and navigating. The Marriott Basin is zoned non-mechanized – no helicopter/sled/motorbike, and we are expected to maintain that usage as a condition of our tenure.

  1. From the Petrocan Station in Pemberton, drive east 6.9 km on Hwy 99 to Mount Currie (intersection by the white church building)
  2. Turn right just north of the church to remain on Hwy 99 (to Lillooet); follow this road for 10 km until a dirt road branches right (Lillooet Lake Road)
  3. Ignore this right and stay on Hwy 99, which begins to switchback up into the hills above Lillooet Lake for 16.9 km.
  4. Continue past the Joffre Lake parking area on Hwy 99 for about 7.7 km to a bridge which crosses Cayoosh Creek.
  5. Just past the bridge, Hwy 99 hooks left and then curves slowly right until it comes to a Highways salt shed.
  6. Park across the road from the highways salt shed. This parking lot is normally cleared daily.
  7. There is a rough access road heading north for about 1.2 kms to the trail head. It is approximately a 1 hour drive from Whistler to the trailhead, then a 3 – 4 hour tough hike or back country ski in to the hut.

The orange-marked route into the Wendy Thompson Hut marks the summer hiking trail.

  1. Follow the north edge of Hwy 99 west for less than a hundred metres to an obvious three metre wide clearing that turns right and heads north into second growth forest (re-brushed Fall 2012).
  2. Follow this clearing up about 100m: this brings you to a landing on a forest service road. Stay on the main trunk which heads generally north for a few hundred metres until you see a sign (currently being replaced) indicating that this is the route to the Wendy Thompson Hut, continue on the main trunk (generally north).
  3. About one km up the main trunk, a branch heads to the right uphill. For hut access, ignore this branch, staying on the main trunk (the main trunk has been brushed recently).
  4. At about two km, the road ends, but a narrow track heads into mature forest directly ahead. Less than 50m in there will be a plaque on a tree to your left noting that this is the route to the Wendy Thompson Hut.
  5. Continue into the forest tending north. Avoid getting into the main creek drainage to the west and only use the obvious slide path on the right on the east if snow stability is good and there is little likelihood of the icefalls above melting.
  6. There are orange markers on trees that indicate the summer route through this lower headwall. Do not try to follow the steep summer route directly, but we suggest that you keep a general track of these markers as you climb.
  7. Note that a summer trail forks to the east near the top of the first headwall ─ this leads to Mt. Rohr, another destination. Both trails are marked with orange markers–do not assume following orange markers will take you to Marriott Basin.
  8. As one continues up and to the north-northwest, a large meadow complex is reached. This is the run out of a climax avalanche path and is the bottom of the Climax ski run. This turns the route to the northwest. Be aware that the route travels through avalanche terrain during this part of the trip. We recommend that groups do all they can to minimize their exposure during this part of the trip. Our suggestion is to keep to the west of the avalanche scar, climbing through steep forest slightly above the run out to gain the top of a moraine that is fully forested. This will lead to a small lake (Marriott Lake)
  9. After passing by Marriott Lake (300m long) climb a short distance to surmount the first bump NW of the lake. The hut is located on the top of this bump in an meadow area resulting from an old burn.
  10. Please note that in a normal winter snowpack, the hut may be very difficult to pick out in poor visibility. This is because the roof may accumulate substantial amounts of snow and blend in well.
  • Compass and/or GPS and skills to use either. See Sites and Trails BC for a map and KML/GPX file.
  • An area-specific map. We recommend “Duffey Lake”1:50 000 by John Baldwin ISBN 978-0-9691550-5-8. Available from any fine outdoor store in the locale. The Wendy Thompson Hut is marked on this map.
  • An area-specific guidebook. We recommend Exploring the Coast Mountains on Skis: A Guide to Ski Mountaineering (Third Edition) by John Baldwin ISBN 978-0-9691550-3-4. Available from any fine outdoor store in the locale. See pages 128-131 specifically for hut details and recommended ski tours.
  • Avalanche training. Minimum appropriate levels would be CAC AST1 or equivalent.
  • Weather forecast and avalanche forecast. See South Coast Inland Avalanche Bulletin.

Wendy Thompson Hut FAQs

No. You lose cell service shortly after driving up the Duffey Lake Road past the third switchback.

If there is no cell service, how do I communicate if there is an emergency?

We recommend that you have at least one satellite communication device with your party; examples include SPOT devices or inReach or PLBs or Satellite Phones. Each has its advantages, but we are most fond of the inReach models, as text packets transfer well and it is easy to know if one has made contact relatively quickly. Note that parties MUST be prepared for self-rescue, basic life support, etc., as any rescue party will take considerable time to respond.

Research what numbers you would like to contact in the event of an emergency. Normally, local RCMP are the first choice. The closest community with RCMP and SAR is Pemberton, BC.

Per our cancellation policy you can receive a refund if you cancel with 7 days (or more) notice, or if the avalanche rating by Avalanche Canada is High or Extreme 24 hours before the start of your trip. You are entering avalanche terrain rated “Challenging” on the ATES (Google it!) scale and we request you take steps to mitigate the hazard.

Please be careful in reading the avalanche bulletin for South Coast Inland. There can be a lot of variability in the forecast region and the southern end often has a higher avalanche rating. We have had parties misunderstand the ratings and try to cancel when the actual rating for the Duffey (the north end of the region, where Marriott Basin is located) was considerable but the southern end was rated as “High”.

Unfortunately, we are not responsible for navigation challenges and per our cancellation policy we issue refunds if seven (7) days’ notice is given or if the avalanche rating as stated on Avalanche Canada’s site is at High or Extreme 24 hours before your trip begins.

Please take a look at the “Access” section of the website and get a copy of a good map or reliable digital source for navigation. Know how to navigate in mountainous terrain in the case of a white out or darkness. The winter route is not marked. Orange markers mark either the summer hiking route (passes through avalanche terrain) or a hiking route to another hanging valley beneath Mt. Rohr.

Please be patient. Due to the high volume of emails, questions, and requests that we receive it may take a few days to send you your refund. In addition, PayPal does take a couple of business days to process transactions.

Whistler, Squamish and Vancouver ACC Chapter members are entitled to early booking privileges but all participants in the group must be ACC members to qualify. The booking windows for the members and non-members can be found by following the link on the Step 1 page of the Reservation process.

Confirmation emails can sometimes be sent to Junk or Spam folders, please check there before contacting us.

This is not a decision we can make for you; however, solo travel in the backcountry is never recommended for a variety of safety reasons.

No. You will need to use navigation and route-finding skills to get to the hut in the winter. As conditions warrant, different routes may be needed to migrate hazard. We do not recommend relying on GPS coordinates to navigate to the hut.

No. Just walk right on in. The “back” door, facing the ski area called “the Burn” is the entrance and has a mud room. There are crocs available and we ask that folks not take boots, skis, or sharps (ice axes, crampons, etc) into the hut.

Yes, new 4″ covered foam mattresses are in at the hut. Please enjoy your sleep!

This is highly inadvisable because you may head out to the hut and find it is full.

The purpose of the hut is to reduce environmental impact. Having tents around the hut puts environmental strain on the area. There are meadows and other places to tent further from the hut. In addition, we find that campers want to use the hut cooking facilities and the outhouse, so really you are making use of much of the infrastructure in this case.

The fees for the hut go toward waste removal from the outhouse and other amenities and we request all campers to use the outhouse in order to reduce environmental impact to the area; therefore, you are using services which must be paid for.

We ask that dogs remain outside to be fair to all users of the hut. Not everyone is comfortable around dogs, for a variety of reasons.